Category Archives: Reading

Rabbit in the Jungle tells a classically American story of second chances, hard work and hope. Sometimes raw and gritty, the book traces Anthony Alegrete’s rise from the streets of Los Angeles, through the penal system, to the halls of academia and the competitive business world of Las Vegas. Along the way he had a lot of fun, a little trouble and learned some lessons. This book shares his story in a way meant to be cautionary and inspiring.

With more tricks than Bugs Bunny and more charm than Roger Rabbit he navigated the street culture of Los Angeles during the heyday of West Coast hip hop; navigated safely through prison politics; built a reputation for himself at University of Nevada – Las Vegas and partnered up with local fitness experts to bring a trendy gym to the downtown area of Vegas.

Price: $14.95, or FREE with Audible.com 30-day free trial membershipListen while you drive: “Rabbit in the Jungle”, now as an AUDIO-BOOK too!

.From a Book Review:
“Alegrete describes in his book the rough neighborhoods of Los Angeles, interactions with gang violence, police chases, prison riots, drug dealing and repercussions of street snitches. He met rap artists, criminals, celebrities, CEO’s, academics, people dedicated to good causes in non-profit organizations and everyone in between. His book describes a life, no thriller author could have come up with. Most important of all, he shows that there is always a way out, how he learned to make better decisions, into a life with a cause and how important family and friends are. His book is meant to be motivation and encouragement.

He tells them that struggles are never excuses to be complacent and not to do anything about circumstances, not to sit idle, hoping for change. And that’s exactly what he did, he survived and in this book he gives a kind of road map how someone can turn negatives into a positive way of life.” Price: $14.95, or FREE with Audible.com 30-day free trial membership

“The first time I went to prison was in 2004. They charged me with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. I wasn’t creating the documents or using them for criminal purposes myself. My job was distribution. In the eyes of the law this is viewed as conspiracy because of the set-up required to produce and distribute the IDs and other items, which are then further used. Another participant in the scam got caught, and to protect himself he wore a wire and set me up.

My personal sense of honor prevented me from accepting a similar offer. I did it, I was caught, no point in taking anybody else down with me. Besides, I ain’t a snitch. Never have been, and never will be. It’s not worth it. Where I come from, a snitch is the lowest kind of maggot.

Guests of the federal prison system frequently get shuffled around, and I made stops in California, Oklahoma, and Texas. The constant moving sharpened my powers of observation and forced me to adapt. Boredom and loneliness were also constant challenges. The established routines for each day only fill so much time. The rest of the day feels very empty.

One of the main things I did was reading.
I remember reading is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green. Like Machiavelli and Sun-tsu before him, Green adopts a very ruthless, martial view of leadership and power. Over the course of 452 pages, he not only made history real he gave me the outline of a plan for my future. Prisons are essentially military systems. Just as Green used moments in history to illustrate the ways power is gained and manipulated, I used his work to negotiate my way through the minefield I had landed in. Green’s confrontational, militant, almost malicious style seemed tailor made for my surroundings. I couldn’t soak it in fast enough.

Up to that point my reading experience consisted of thumbing through magazines and completing school assignments. The idea that I could read something in a book and immediately apply it to improve my own position revolutionized my thinking. My encounter with that book was a defining moment.

It’s kind of a no-brainer that a majority of the gentlemen in the pen are not too fond of the government. As a result, conspiracy-theory books are fairly popular. The one I picked up was called Behold the Pale Horse by Bill Cooper. I decided that type of reading wasn’t really my thing. People connected with the anger and suspicion that goes into that kind of literature. I guess if you have trust issues it kind of plays into your mindset to read about things like the Roswell cover-up, secret societies and the new world order. If you travel too far down that road it’s hard to find your way back to a place in the real world. It’s not that I didn’t believe some of what was in those books, but that’s not a healthy, helpful way to think considering my circumstances at the time.

I looked at reading as a way to build myself up so I only read enough of that dark stuff to see what it was about and then moved on to things that helped me to move forward. I read nonfiction to fuel my ambition and shape my world view, but fiction had a place in my plan, too. Novels were a great way to escape and distract myself, but beyond that I could have vicarious experiences and get important insights into human nature. James Patterson, who wrote the Alex Cross series, and David Baldacci, who authored The Winner, tell compelling stories that held my interest. In prison you should read every single piece of writing that you can get your hands on. Beyond that though, you have to learn what to do with what you read.

Reading kept my mind occupied, it kept me out of trouble, and it provided peace in the midst of chaos. Everyone in prison reads, but not everyone is reading the right stuff and not everyone is taking the knowledge and using it.”

TV-Interview: Anthony Alegrete, author of “Rabbit in the Jungle” talks about his book – From Bars to Books – http://youtu.be/sypbPoE7lRs

Rabbit in the Jungle by Anthony Alegrete is certainly available as paperback and as an e-book

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/ to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

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#2 Smart People Have DedicationJenna Goudreau wrote in a Forbes article: “One thing successful people know: Dedication and blind persistence are two different things. You can work hard but not smart. When something’s not working, you’ve got to tweak it. Successful people maintain success by consistently learning and adapting to the environment around them.”
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#3 Smart People Set Goals
There are hundreds of research studies going back decades showing that setting goals can increase people’s performance. How to avoid the four common mistakes in goal setting is well explained in this PSY blog. Now, who accomplished the most goals: 64% who had written down their goals and 76% of those who shared their goals with friends!

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#4 Smart People Are Self-AwareAuthor Scott Berkun wrote: “There are many methods that can help an interested person in learning more about themselves:

When we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluators of ourselves.

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#5 Being Self-Disciplined“It’s easy to think of the highly self-disciplined as being miserable misers or uptight Puritans, but it turns out that exerting self-control can make you happier not only in the long run, but also in the moment” writes Neuroscience journalist Maia Szalavitz in a TIME magazine article.

Furthermore: “Through a series of tests — including one that assessed 414 middle-aged participants on self-control and asked them about their life satisfaction both currently and in the past — and another that randomly queried volunteers on their smartphones about their mood and any desires they might be experiencing, the researchers found a strong connection between higher levels of self-control and life-satisfaction.”
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If you’re looking to improve your success at home, work, school or at your writing you can start by working the positive habits of smart people into your daily routine.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

How Can Goodreads Help Your Book Take-Off?Goodreads is a kind of Facebook / Google+ for people who love to read books. A free website for book lovers. Bookshelves, reviews, ratings, reader communities, author pages, book giveaways … all this is Goodreads. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, or start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.
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1. Goodreads Author Program
Use it to promote yourself and your books. What is the Goodreads Author Program? It is a
completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate
readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors, to promote their books. What
Can You Do as a Goodreads Author?

a) Show Your Author Profile

Add a picture and bio.

Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans!

Write a blog and generate a band of followers.

Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements.

Share book excerpts and other writing.

Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.

Post videos. Add the Goodreads Author widget to to your personal website or blog to show off reviews of your books.

b) Promote Your Books

Sign up to advertise your book to up to the Goodreads Community—16,000,000 readers!

List a book giveaway to generate pre-launch buzz.

Lead a Q&A discussion group for readers.

Participate in discussions on your profile, in groups and in the discussion forums for your books.

How do I join and who can join is explained in detail in one of our former blog posts about Goodreads.
The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are just in the process of
publishing a book. It’s best if your work is on a bookseller’s website, such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, but Goodreads will accept any author who has published a book. This includes authors from
other countries as well as authors who are self-published. If your book is self-published and is not yet in the Goodreads database, you may manually add it.

How To Use the Author Program
Learn more about how to promote your books with special tools on Goodreads. Each slideshow
demonstrates a different aspect of our Author Program.
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2. Reader and Writer ForumsDid you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads? Just go to the top of each page and click on Groups. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups” etc. and one the right hand site of the page “Browse by Tag”. This is were all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords. For sample:

Book Club

Historical Fictionistas

Non-Fiction

Young Adult Book Groups

Suspense

Super-Natural

The Perks Of Being A Book Addict

Womankind Worldwide Book Group

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As you can see, when you scroll down on the right hand site, there are ten-thousands of groups!!!
Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common
Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations
(3365) Student Groups (6129)
There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity
at Goodreads, were obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise. These groups are a hidden gem to meet readers and reviewers. Almost all are public groups. Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it’s not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception I just mentioned. ”Authors are welcomed and Goodreads supports authors in many ways, but the groups are primarily geared towards readers. Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.” Once you are known in these forums, your author site and your books will automatically be read – and often reviewed.

.3. Get and Give ReviewsWhen I was talking recently with an author, who desperately wanted more reviews. When I asked him how many reviews he has written in the last year, he stumbled … and said: “well, NONE so far”. Shall I say more? Don’t forget: To be a Goodreads member and to benefit, especially from reviews, requires that you are a bit more active on this site, for sample in shelving books of other writers, in participating from time to time in forums, read books and review them. How could someone expect to receive reviews if they are not writing some for others? Be a good pal in this book community!
From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

.4. Friends Can Recommend Your BookAnd you can recommend books from your writer friends? To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook“.

Under the icon “friends” your Goodreads friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom
you want to send your book recommendation. Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads. The “Facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodreads to recommend the book to.
Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Once you read them, write a review! Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.

.5. Share This BookAnother hidden gem on your Goodreads page, that your visitors, readers and friends can use in order to promote your books: “Share This Book“. Did you realize that everyone of your Goodreads book’s pages has share buttons to submit your book to Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and to their Facebook page, even “like” it on Facebook? Go to the right hand side of your books page and scroll down, until you see the button: “Share This Book”
There is another possibility to spread the word about your book: Next to these Social Media icons are two unassuming words: Your Website. When you click on it, a window appears with some code that one can be easily copy and paste onto their blog or website and will show an image of your book and a link. Another way to spread the work about your book! Let your friends ping to Google+ and FB
On the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.
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6. Advertise Your Events for FREEGoodreads encourages you to publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. This is a feature, similar to the one which is offered on Google+ – see our bloghttps://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/announce-your-book-signing-on-google-for-free/. Start about 3 weeks before your book launch with your event announcement. Use Goodreads’ event listing form to start the process. It has an RVSP feature and people can state if they are “coming”.
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7. Give Away Copies of Your Print Book.It makes sense to give away books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries.

Goodreads recommends even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits the stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves – visible for all their friends.” Read more about Goodreads Giveaway rules in a former blog post.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Who Spends the Most Time Reading in the World? INDIA It took the Western world a bit by surprise, that the most avid readers can be found in India. See the info-graphic by Publishing Perspectives. Canada is #21, Germany #22 and the USA #23 ….

David Gaughran wrote:”The Indian market has huge potential: a burgeoning middle class which speaks English and enjoys an increasing level of disposable income. Skeptics might point to high levels of poverty and low levels of internet connectivity, but with a population of 1.2 billion, only a very small percentage of the population needs to purchase devices (or read on existing devices such as lap tops or smartphones) before this is an extremely important market.”
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Most popular in India: self-help books
Penguin India, for example, has sold 5,000 copies of The Ultimate Visual Dictionary. According to a report published in The Sunday Times, in small towns, encyclopedias and dictionaries are sold by travelling salesman and are often occupy pride of place as the sole book owned by a family.
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The strong market for educational books reflects the fierce competition faced by young Indians when applying for a job or a place in the university. Self-help books, how-to guides and textbooks are considered the quickest way to improve prosperity and social status. Every middle-class family dreams of having a doctor or engineer in the house.
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Reading for pleasure is considered less useful and a novel is a bestseller if it sells 2,000-3,000 copies, a tiny number in a country of more than one billion people. India seems to be almost a paradise for non-fiction authors!
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More readers
With literacy rising, there are also more reasons to pick up a book: Improving conversational skills, being ‘in the know’, and getting cheaper books.
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More publishersPenguin India, is celebrating its 25th year in India. Plus there are other big publishing houses such as Random House and HarperCollins on the Sub-Continent. There are also independent publishers, for example Katha Press. And many writers are self-publishing, in print or digitally.
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More contests and prizesNotable ones are the Hindu Literary Prize, the DSC Prize, Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, and many others.
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More Festivals
Mumbai has three literature fests, Goa, two. There are fests in Kerala, Kolkata, Hyderabad; and these are just the major ones. Many more literature events are taking place in other Indian cities.
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More authorsGoodreads Listopia presents a huge list of “Best Indian Books” – and readers can vote! One more author from India: Fiza Pathan. Her books (short stories) as well as the new one Classics: Why we should encourage children to read them (launch July 2013), can be found on Amazon. Poetry lovers go to http://insaneowl.com to read more from Fiza.

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.Amazon explains:“Authors can track your book sales to customers in India with the new KDP sales reporting, detailed by country. Digital Books enrolled in KDP Select will be eligible to earn 70% royalty for sales to our customers in Brazil, Japan, and India. The List Price you set for Brazil, Japan, and India must also meet the 70% List Price requirements for sales to customers in these territories. If your Digital Book is not enrolled in KDP Select or you do not meet the 70% List Price requirements, you will earn 35% royalty.” Let me add this: Authors can enroll in KDP Select (which means their book can be borrowed by Prime Members, and which earns the author more than $2 per borrowed book) but they do not have to use the 5 free days, if they don’t want.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Once you are on this website, click on Seminar to register.

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 785 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Are you an author who had video-taped interviews, or has already a book trailer? Business owners and professionals who include videos in marketing campaigns: Get this FREE e-book to have an abundance of links to video sharing sites, helping you to get your message out. Videos, aka “book trailers” are one of the best ways to introduce your book to millions of readers worldwide.

Using this valuable guide book, you

learn how to plan, create and most important:

market your video, step for step explained in this new e-book.

Over 100 useful links help readers to find free photographs and graphics,

free music and top websites where you can upload your video and let it go viral.

You might have seen many movie trailers, but did you know that book trailers have the same success rate and that they have the potential to go viral? Video content in web pages / emails almost doubles visitor rates!!! You don’t need a Kindle to read “111 Tips to Create Your Book Trailer”, just download the free Kindle app for your computer/laptop or your phone!
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Goodreads is a kind of Facebook for people who love to read books. A free website for book lovers. Imagine it as a large library that you can wander through and see everyone’s bookshelves, their reviews, and their ratings. You can certainly post your own reviews and catalog what you have read, currently reading, and plan to read in the future. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.
.How can friends recommend your book?Or how can you recommend books from your writer friends?
To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook”

Under the icon “friends” your Goodread friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom you want to send your book recommendation.

Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads.

The “facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodread to recommend the book to.

Reviews are essential
Like on Amazon reviews on their site help your book stand out in two ways. The more people review your book, the more visible it will be. Goodreads reviews also appear on sites like Powell’s, Google Books, and the Sony Ebook Store. From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

.Let your friends ping to Google+ and FBOn the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.

.Add your favorite books
Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.

.Give away as many copies as possible.
It makes sense to give away a lot of books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries. We recommend even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves.”

Goodreads will also use the recommendations to help authors and publishers advertise their books to readers who are most likely to be interested in them. Seventeen thousand authors, including James Patterson and Margaret Atwood, use Goodreads.

Infographic 25 Top Reviewers on Goodreads (no links to them, to find out one has to dig into Goodreads website.
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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 600 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

And don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris

Biblio Connection is a social community for all book lovers. Their goal is to connect and encourage interaction between readers, authors, booksellers, publishers, illustrators and book collectors. Here are just some of the possibilities, offered by the amazing Biblio Connection:

Meet – fellow writers, collectors, sellers, authors and readers

Connect – find others with a passion for books

Find – browse the Classified Ads and enhance your book collection

Promote – your book and brand through giveaways and article features

Organize – schedule a book collectors/club meeting, a book fair, invite friends

Sell – your used/collectable books in the Classified Ads

Start – a group and discuss your favorite books or collecting experiences

Win – free books through our sponsored book giveaways

Last but not least:Service Provider Directory – Do you provide editing, book reviews, blog writing, cover designs, illustrations or maybe publishing services? Members, list your services for FREE in BiblioConnection’s new Service Provider Directory.

From their website:
“Authors can introduce their latest works, post listings and participate in giveaways. Collectors can post listings in the classifieds, locate, trade and find information about books. Independent booksellers can network with readers and collectors. Those offering publishing, illustration or book cover design can find ways to connect with indie authors. Maybe you offer specific restoration, binding or location services that may be useful to collectors. Become a member and meet others just like you with a passion for books.”

If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts (there are more than 550 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Follow on Twitter: @111publishing

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks, Doris